Detention
by Lise Blodeuwedd
Summary: Set five years after the epologue of DH contains spoilers. Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, Scorpious Malfoy and Sue Steel are 6th years paying detention together. Can they survive each other?
1. The Rebelious Hufflepuff

Detention

**Detention**

_Author: Blodeuwedd_

_Beta:_ _higginszoo_

_**Author's note: **__I obviously don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, except for Sue Steel and maybe a few more non-important ones. This is set five years after the Epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so beware of spoilers. Please, read and review. And a special thanks to my ultra-fast beta, higginszoo!_

**Chapter 1: The Rebellious Hufflepuff**

His footsteps echoed in the large hallway as he ran to the dungeons. Having overslept, he had already missed breakfast and was now late for his Potions class. Being early in the morning, the hallways were pretty empty, all the students already at their classes or – those who could – still asleep. The only one who saw him was the Bloody Baron, the Slytherins' ghost, who paid him no attention at all. As he reached the Potions classroom, he swerved to enter through the already open doors, slipped and fell on his backside, his book and the rest of his material spreading around him. He could feel his classmates staring at him and heard them giggle and snicker at the sight. Blushing, he picked up his things, got up and went to sit in his usual place.

"So, Mr. Potter, I see you decided to join us," Old Professor Slughorn's tone was one of dismay and sarcasm altogether, as if he was ashamed of himself for scolding his student. Several of his classmates were laughing now. "Now, there, I'll have none of this. You shouldn't be laughing, Mr. Potter could have been seriously hurt. Are you hurt, Mr. Potter?"

Albus blushed even more at his professor's preoccupation. _Seriously hurt by landing on my butt? I don't think so. Seriously embarrassed, perhaps._ "No, sir. I'm fine."

"Well, then, lets proceed. If you will… Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Herm… Aren't you going to punish me, sir?"

"Punish you, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, sir. For my tardiness."

"Well, of course not. I can see you had no intention whatsoever of arriving late to my class. As the son of the great Harry Potter would do anything like that! No, obviously not. Now, as I was saying…"

Albus sighed inwardly. _Great! Now everyone is going to hate me for not being punished for my lateness when they would get it for much less. I really wish professor Slughorn – well, all the professors, actually – would stop treating me like I'm something special just because of Dad! _He could feel several of his classmates looking at him angrily already. Collecting himself, he decided to take some action.

"Professor Slughorn?"

"…could go wrong if… Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"I am really sorry to interrupt you sir, but I think I should be punished. I mean, anyone who arrives late should be punished, and since it was me… well... you see."

Slughorn hesitated, as if he thought this could harm him somehow. Like if "the mighty" Harry Potter himself would come out of the shadows and shoot him a forbidden curse. "Well, if you wish so, Mr. Potter, then… Five points less to Hufflepuff."

Albus smiled, pleased with himself. Usually he would let it pass, but today he had stepped up to his professor. Of course it was on a small matter, but still, he was feeling bold today. From the corner of his eyes he could see that his classmates were also pleased, even the Hufflepuff ones, who had just lost five points to their house.

The class went by uneventful and Albus half expected his classmates to come thank him or congratulate him for his sense of justice in insisting to be punished. Instead, they all left without saying even a word to him – in fact, most of them just acted like he wasn't there.

The black haired boy walked slowly to his next class. Around him, other students chatted about Quidditch, complained about exams and made plans for the weekend. But Albus had no one to talk to. People passed him and nodded and waved, but nobody really stopped to talk to him. He'd nod back and smile, but his green eyes were a shade darker. It was not that he had no friends, it was just he had no _special _friends. Everyone seemed to like him well enough, but no one really _talked _to him, except for his siblings and cousins, but they had friends of their own. The truth was Albus was an average boy: average good-looking, average intelligent, average friendly, who had average grades and played average Quidditch. He did not have his brother James' good nature or ability with a broom, nor his sister Lily's good looks and popularity. He didn't even have his cousin Rose's intelligence and memory or his cousin Hugo's charm and funny remarks. He was never in the spotlight, except when his resemblance to his father was the subject. The fact that he looked very much like the Savior-of-The-World Harry Potter instead of pleasing him, annoyed him the most. Teachers would go easy on him and treat him differently because of that; they wouldn't do it to James, though, for his brother knew very well how to be himself and himself only. Being a Hufflepuff didn't help much, on the contrary. It only meant that he wasn't know for his courage, like a Gryffindor would be, or by his wit, like a Ravenclaw, not even by his ambition, like a Slytherin. Hufflepuffs were famous for their loyalty, sincerity and patience, which were all very good, except that it contributed even more for his "good-boy" fame. And, honestly, a house full of loyal, sincere and patient people could get really boring sometimes. To top it all, he had been made Prefect the previous year, which meant that on those rare occasions when Hufflepuffs would be up for mischief, they'd make sure _he _was not around.

Albus looked through a window to the bright blue sky. There were no clouds and the morning seemed too perfect for words. _I wish I didn't have classes today. It's a wonderful day to fly. _Instead, he had double Charms and was already running late – again. He sped up to avoid further embarrassment, but then it suddenly dawned him: arriving on time was a "good-boy" thing. If he wanted to change his image, he had to start acting like a "bad-boy". And what would a "bad-boy" do? _Arrive late! _He looked at the baby blue sky again and smirked. _Better yet, not arrive at all_.

The turned on his heels and ran back to the statue of a hunchback woman. James had told him it was a secret passageway that would lead right to the heart of Hogsmeade – he had discovered that when he had "borrowed" his father's Map, one that showed all Hogwarts and everyone's whereabouts, before his father took it back. Albus looked both sides to ensure no one was around, touched the statue with his wand and said "_Dissendio"_. The hunchback opened and revealed a small passage, large enough for him to pass – not that was very big, for that matter. He gaped in awe and smirked again. He had already sat his left foot inside it when he heard footsteps behind him. He stopped dead in the tracks, terrified of getting caught. Perhaps if he stayed very still, this person – whoever it was – wouldn't see a sixteen year old boy trying to enter a statue?

"Going somewhere Potter?"

_Crap. _"I… I was just… Just checking this statue, professor Jenkins." Albus turned around to face his DADA teacher. "I was told some third years had put dung bombs inside it, you see." _That's good enough._

"I see… And did you find any?"

"Any what?"

"Dung bombs?"

_Double crap_. "No, sir… I mean, madam. No, madam."

Professor Diane Jenkins smiled and her eyes twinkled with mischief. "So, Mr. Potter, tell me: do you know where that passageway leads to?"

"No, madam, I don't," Albus managed not to turn _too _red when he said that.

"So how do you know it's a passageway?"

_Triple crap_. "I…well, er… You see, I…"

"Detention, Potter."

Albus goggled at the professor, "But, but I…"

"No _buts_, Potter. You were obviously trying to escape to Hogsmeade when you should be in class. Detention, tomorrow, 2 p.m., my office. Don't be late."

Albus sighed. _Great, that's just what I needed! _He had never got a detention before and was quite sure his brother was going to do a lot of teasing on that one. He was always mocking him for never getting detentions, and being Prefect, and having good grades and being the good-boy… _Wait! That IS just what I needed! _As he turned to head to Charms class, he smiled to himself. He was probably the first boy ever to be pleased with a detention.


	2. The Respectful Slytherin

Chapter 2: The Respectful Slytherin

**Chapter 2: The Respectful Slytherin**

_Author: Blodeuwedd_

_Beta:_ _higginszoo_

Scorpius Malfoy was sitting on the grass by the lake, his brow furrowed and his lips moving slightly as he read his Transfiguration essay for the third time. He had to be absolutely sure that no mistakes whatsoever had been made, and, no matter how many times he read it, he still didn't think it was good enough. He had a reputation to live by, after all. Sighing, he lifted his head to watch the other students, all enjoying the warmth of the Spring sun and postponing studying without second thoughts. Life was, after all, brief, and one should seize the day, as he had read once in an old Muggle Philosophy book (hidden from his father, obviously). The concept itself was quite simple, but really _doing_ it was another thing entirely. Scorpius knew he was a bit uptight – hell, a _lot_ uptight – but he could not help it. He liked rules and order and routines too much to loosen up. It made everything way much easier to deal with. He did not need to think about what to do next, or whether it would or wouldn't be proper, he didn't have to come up with ways to get himself out of situations nor did he have to pay detentions. Life was much simpler when one followed the rules. All right, so his life lacked a little fun, but who needed that? He snapped out of his reverie when he heard a loud laugh coming from a group of fourth years that seemed to be enjoying themselves with some explosive snaps. _Ok, so maybe I _do _need that. _

His major problem was – he thought, while he stood up – he had absolutely no friends. He hardly had acquaintances. He was a quiet person and had been so for all his life. Being an only child born from another only child was very lonely. He had only one cousin, who was almost ten years younger and lived in another country, so he didn't really count as a peer. When he was young, he had no one to play with, and started making himself imaginary friends who would play with him. His father had thought he was going crazy and prohibited him of talking to himself, which Scorpius obeyed, of course, like he always did. He would hate to make his parents angry at him – what if they stopped liking him? So he had always tried his best to be a good son, which he managed quite successfully, until he had been sent off to Hogwarts. There had been many more people to please then, and they all seemed to have different views of what was and what was not nice. Scorpius remembered when, still on his first trip at the Hogwart's Express, he had told a couple students that had turned a third one into a bird that that was wrong, and the ugly looks he had received – including from the bird. Adjusting to school had been somewhat hard on eleven-year-old Scorpius and he had soon discovered that he'd either be liked by his teachers _or _by his classmates. Considering his parents probably wanted the first to happen, he resumed _(omit the to)_obeying, only now the teachers substituted for the parents.

Another thing he had found out soon was that being a Slytherin was no piece of cake, especially for a Malfoy. The students from the other Houses didn't seem very amiable, specially the Gryffindors, who seemed to believe that every Slytherin was their lifelong enemy. Scorpius himself thought that was very prejudicial, since they obviously didn't know _all_ Slytherins, but gave up trying to be friends with them when it was clear that he lacked the social ability to make new friends. He had, nonetheless, decided to be respectful with all the other students and had, therefore, gained the antipathy of his fellow House members, who thought a respectful Slytherin had to be punished. Luckily, Scorpius was intelligent enough to learn a few defensive spells, so they rarely got him – and the gods knew they had tried to jinx him more than once. And if that wasn't enough, he was a Malfoy, meaning the son and grandson of former Death Eaters, that is, followers of the deceased dark wizard Voldemort. For that, and that alone, many of the students and even some of the teachers were very cautious around Scorpius, as if he was a dark wizard himself. And the few students that agreed with Voldemort's pure blood theory disliked the Malfoys because they considered the family to be traitors to whom they called the Dark Lord.

Scorpius' thoughts were again interrupted when he overheard his name. He looked around and saw two Slytherin seventh years eyeing him and talking quietly. When they noticed him looking, they stared back, daring him to do something about it. Scorpius scowled and started to move away from them, but they put themselves in the middle of his way. The blond boy sighed, knowing what was about to come.

"Hey, _Malfoy_", said the first boy, with disdain, "running away so quickly?"

The second boy sneered. "That's obvious, typical Malfoy attitude, running away at the minimal sight of danger."

Scorpius glared at the pair. Those particular two boys had been nagging him since his first year. _Really, when are they going to learn already? _"I don't see any danger, minimal or otherwise. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be." He tried to sound as polite and calm as possible, but listening to them speaking evil of his family always got to him. Not that he agreed with his father's and grandfather's past actions, but it had all happened a long time ago. His father and even his grandfather had changed, albeit not much, and Scorpius was very different from both of them. But nobody cared about that, nobody even knew that.

"No so fast, _sissy_." The first boy spoke again, lifting his wand, but before he could do anything with it, Malfoy had already raised his own and thought _Expelliarmus_, sending his opponent's wand flying in the air.

"Think you're great, don't you, Blondie? Think you're better than other people just because you're a fucking Prefect. Newsflash, Malfoy, you're _nothing_!" The second boy snarled. "_Furnunculus!_"

"_Protego." _

"Yeah, keep doing that, keep backing off you bloody coward! You're just like the rest of your family, a lot of bloody cowards, always hiding yourselves, the scum, the disgrace of all purebloods, filthy bastards, you deserve nothing more than shit!"

_Levicorpus!_

The boy flew into the air, his body hanging down only by one ankle, shaking his arms inefficiently.

"What's going on here?"

_F#&._

Scorpius turned to see his Herbology professor coming down the hall. He gulped and looked around, contemplating the scene like he wasn't a part of it, like his soul had disattached from his body and was now floating in the air and looking down at himself. There were he, standing with his wand on his right hand, his classmate hanging in the air upside down and the other one looking astonished at the scene, half leaning on the way to get his wand back.

_Double f#&._

Professor Longbottom looked down at him in disbelief. Despite his past grudges against Draco Malfoy, his son was one of his best and most well-behaved students. But the scene was quite clear and he had no other option. "Detention, Malfoy. Tomorrow, 2 p.m., my office. No excuses."

Scorpius' soul quickly settled back into his body.

_Triple f#&!_

While the Professor calmed down the other students, Scorpius dashed away, trying his best to avoid the stares that were coming his way. He felt ashamed of himself for using that spell, more so for what had caused him to use it. His head was throbbing and he could hardly see straight as he rushed to his dormitory. He couldn't even begin to imagine what his father was going to say about it.


	3. Griffindor vs Ravenclaw

Chapter 3: Gryffindor vs

**Chapter 3: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw **

_Author: Blodeuwedd_

_Beta:_ _higginszoo_

_**Author's note: **__T__hanks to my beta, higginszoo and to everyone who reviewed!_

It was a glorious Saturday afternoon, the sun was high up in the sky and no clouds were within sight. That is, the best day for a Quidditch match. Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the warm air. This was the first match of the year and she had decided to score as many goals as she possible could, to have a good beginning. After last year's fiasco, when they had come in third, the Gryffindor team really needed a fresh start. Granted, Ravenclaw had come in last the previous year, but that didn't mean it was an easy target, for the difference had been really small. A loud whistle was heard and the game began as the Quaffle was shot into the air. Rose accelerated and caught it, quickly flew to Ravenclaw's goal hoops and was about to score when a Bludger hit her broomstick, sending her spinning in the air, the Quaffle now already in the hands of a Ravenclaw's Chaser. Rose shot a death glance at her brother, who was supposed to make sure Bludgers came nowhere near her. He only shrugged and mouthed, "Sorry."

Meanwhile, Ravenclaw's Seeker, Sue Steel, was flying in circles above the pitch, searching for the Snitch. She saw the Weasley girl get hit buy a Bludger and smiled. _Serves her right for being such a show off!_ Her eyes then went to the opposite team's Keeper, Kevin Wood. He had messy brown hair, broad shoulders, a calm voice and an incredible ability to avoid her. She had been hinting that she wanted him to ask her out for over an year now, and yet he still hadn't. That was rare for her; she usually got what she wanted, especially where it concerned boys. They all fell very easily for her shiny chocolate hair, her tanned skin, her curves and some smooth talk. Wood, nevertheless, seemed to prefer the skinny Gryffindor redhead that had now managed to score a goal and was being cheered by the audience. Sue scowled at her. _Like hell she's going to win against me!_ And she didn't mean only Quidditch.

Hugo sent a Bludger flying at one of Ravenclaw's Chasers, Jane Webster, who lost the Quaffle she was holding. Rose seized the opportunity to catch it and quickly fly to one of the hoops. She then threw the Quaffle to Lily, who was on the other side of the pitch, to try to confound the Keeper. Lily threw it back at her when she neared the hoop; she caught it and was about to throw it when she saw a Bludger coming her way. She didn't have to dodge, though, for Hugo had already hit it and sent it into Sue Steel's direction. Rose threw and scored, making the red mass scream in joy. Rose winked at Lily, then looked at her brother and mouthed, "Thank you." He pretended to take a bow at her and she grinned. Above them, Sue buffed and resumed her search for the Snitch after she had lost it trying to avoid the Bludger.

Less than ten minutes later, the score was already 120 to 40 to Gryffindor and rising. Sue buffed again, annoyed. She had to find the Snitch and she'd better do it fast, for Ravenclaw didn't seem like it was going to score anytime soon – thanks, mostly, to Wood's ability as Keeper. Sue wouldn't mind her team losing if it meant she got him to comfort her, but seeing as it wasn't the case, she'd rather win, even if only to be able to rub it at Weasley's face. She was lost in these thoughts when she caught sight of something gold near the Ravenclaws' left goal hoop. Her attention quickly focused, she took a quick glance at James Potter and noticed he still hadn't seen it. She dove in the opposite direction and stretched her hand, pretending to be trying to catch something. She watched through the corner of her eye when Potter followed her and smiled. They were almost reaching the floor level when she made a sudden turn, shooting up. Potter took precious two seconds to understand what had happened, which cost him a crash with the grass. He swore and stood up, but it was already too late, for Sue had just grabbed the Snitch and the match ended 190 to 120 to Ravenclaw. The blue crowd cheered and the teams landed, the Ravenclaws grouping around Sue, the Gryffindors looking very disappointed. Slowly the teams started to leave to go to the changing rooms, an evident contrast between a cheerful and a gloomy group. As Rose Weasley passed, accompanied by her cousin, Lily Potter, Sue took the opportunity to talk to her friend a little bit louder than she needed to.

"I pity them, really, they just can't help losing! It's not like they are _great_ players after all…"

Rose rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. For some unknown reason, Sue Steel had an uncanny ability to make the redhead incredibly angry at her. Every other day she found herself near to drawing her wand at the beautiful brunette, but she knew better than to get in trouble because of that… well, _girl._ Rose saw her cousin Lily step forward and put a hand on her arm to prevent her of doing something harmful. "Never mind her," Rose whispered, "she's not worth it."

"They could be _a little _better, you know, if their captain chose the players for their ability, not hair color," Sue had resumed to provoking them. "Unfortunately, it seems Wood is a bit blind-eyed where it concerns a _certain_ family. I mean, we all know one of his Chasers deals much better with books than with the Quaffle. I hate to sound mean, but she really should choose another sport; perhaps a Muggle one! 'Cause certainly flying is not her gift, if you know what I mean… Not to gossip, but I heard she wouldn't be in the team, if she hadn't done some _favors _for the captain…"

Rose spun so fast she nearly fell, her face redder than her hair, wand already at hand. "What did you just say?"

"Oh, you were there!" Sue looked almost sorry for what she had said. Almost. "Please, forgive me! I shouldn't have said it… Although I was just repeating something I'd heard."

"Take it back!"

"Can I give you a piece of advice, you know, as a fellow Prefect? Why don't you just assume that, you know… You _did it_ with Wood, since the cat is out of the bag already?"

Rose's small blue eyes got wide with shock. "I… I didn't… I never…" She stammered, unable to former a proper phrase.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you! I'm a little bit envious, actually. I mean, you've certainly got _a lot_ more experience than me… Well, than any of us."

"You _bitch_! That's a lie and you know it! Why do you hate me so?"

"Hate _you_, the _perfect girl_? Oh, gods, no! Never! But now you have offended me! What, just because I said something everybody already knows, that you're a slut and you shagged Wood?"

"_Densaugeo!" _

"_Tarantallegra!"_

The spells collided in midair and changed trajectories. Rose's jinx hit Webster, who screamed and put her hands over her mouth, for her front teeth had started to grow a lot longer then they were supposed to be. Sue's hex, on the other hand, hit Kevin Wood, who – along with James – was coming to see what was happening; his legs seemed to have become alive and started some sort of crazy tap dance, which made him trip and fall.

"Weasley and Steel!" The girls froze as the loud voice of their Quidditch referee and flying teacher, Madam Robbins, echoed in the hallway. She came closer and shook her head at Wood and Webster. "You both, to the infirmary now. Miss Potter, Mr. Potter, if you will please escort them?"

When the Potters left with the injured ones, Madam Robbins turned her attention back to Rose and Sue. "Now, what just happened here?"

Sue put up her best puppy eyes. "She wanted to jinx me!", she whined, sounding very innocent. "I was just trying to defend myself."

Rose opened her mouth and closed again, resembling a golden fish.

"Is that true, Miss Weasley?"

Rose grinded her teeth in annoyance and had to take a deep breath before she could answer. "She was provoking me."

"Now, Miss Weasley, what could Miss Steel have said to cause you to raise your wand at her?"

Rose felt the warmth flowing through her cheeks as she blushed. "She called me… Well, she called me something _very bad_."

"What was it, exactly?"

"Well, she said I was a… a… slut." She only whispered the last word, but Madam Robbins clearly got the meaning, as she laid eyes in Sue again, who tried her best to appear as naïve as possible. "You go to the shower now, both of you." The girls sighed with relief. "I'll give you twenty minutes to clean up and report back to me here, then you're going to have some _quality time _with Mr. Filch."

The girls groaned and looked at each other menacingly, but neither spoke again. 

**Author's note: **I know Filch is about a hundred years old now, but I felt he's such a good character that I just couldn't replace him. And in the next chapter, the true detention really begins! :-)


	4. Realizations

Chapter 4: Realizations

**Chapter 4: Realizations **

**Author's note: **I'll be switching points of view ever so often, I hope you can understand the story.

Albus walked silently behind his DADA teacher. Inside he was beaming at finally getting a detention, but he was trying not to show that - at least not too much. If Professor Jenkins knew how he was feeling, she'd probably call off the detention, and it would be just a waste of a very good chance to show he wasn't so well behaved after all; that he also did normal things, as well as to ease some of the pressure and the expectations that everyone had about him. They reached the Trophy Room, where his detention was to take place, and were greeted by the aged Hogwarts caretaker, Mr. Filch, who had a slight smirk on his wrinkled face. Albus shivered lightly - Mr. Filch always gave him the goosebumps. The old man seemed to enjoy punishing the students, have fun even, and that was certainly creepy. Albus quickly entered the room and looked around, mesmerized by the sight of many trophies, cups and medals. He wondered if he would find any that were won by his parents. After all, they had been great Quidditch players when they were in Hogwarts - his mother had even become a professional player. He was lost in thought and almost jumped with surprise when he caught sight of a platinum blond, slightly taller than him, a Slytherin boy, who was lightly tapping his foot on the floor like he couldn't wait to be out of there - which was probably true.

Scorpius was not liking the situation at all. Besides having to polish all those trophies, he still had to wait for another student who was going to pay detention with him. He pondered who it could be: probably a fellow Slytherin or perhaps a Gryffindor. He wasn't quite sure what was worse. He shook his head to clear the thought and saw someone had entered the room. His face fell at the sight of the raven haired boy._ Potter. Great! This day couldn't get any worse..._ Not that he disliked the other boy, quite the opposite. If he was to be honest with himself, he'd have to admit he kind of admired the Hufflepuff boy's kindness and good manners. In fact, he envied the way everyone seemed to like him. Even the Slytherins respected him, although that was mostly out of fear than anything else. Scorpius would have enjoyed being liked by so many people - which was obviously not the case. The Slytherin knew for a fact that the Potters hated him - James Potter made it clear every time they met and Albus didn't even acknowledged his presence. The grudge was due to some not-very-clear things that had passed between their parents in the past, which Scorpius actually thought was a bit unfair, since _he_ hadn't done anything bad; but by now he was already used to it.

Albus nodded slightly at the other boy, his bashfulness returned with full force. He knew him from the Prefects meetings and also because their fathers had been sort of enemies in the past. His older brother hated Malfoy – but then again, James hated _all_ Slytherins. Albus didn't have anything against the blond boy, though; although it was truth he also had nothing pro Malfoy, either. He simply did not know Malfoy well enough to have a formed opinion about him, and Albus was certainly not one to judge before knowing someone.

Professor Jenkins left and Filch turned his attention to the boys in front of him. "Well, well… Let's see if some hard work will make these two learn a lesson…"

There was a knock on the door and the caretaker stopped talking. "Come in," he said, looking very annoyed. Albus watched as Madam Robbins appeared, and quickly understood that there must have been a fight after the Quidditch game. He didn't even know how it had ended, as he had to rush to be in the DADA classroom. He hoped his brother wasn't involved, though – he would be in big trouble if he got yet another detention, not to mention that his mother would probably kill him. Besides, he'd totally steal his thunder. He was daydreaming and had lost Madam Robbins last words and was therefore shocked to see his cousin Rose walk in, accompanied by no one less than the most popular girl in Hogwarts, Sue Steel. Rose was usually well-behaved and followed the rules, although her temper sometimes got the best of her. And Sue was like an angel, from all he knew. And they were both Prefects! Albus frowned: there were four Prefects in detention – this was a very odd day.

Scorpius had seen the girls enter as well, but paid them no further attention. The Weasley girl was from the same family as the Potters and probably hated him as well, and Steel was just not worth his time – she was good looking, though.

Rose stopped dead on the tracks when she caught sight of Malfoy._ He is here! Oh Merlin, he is here! Maybe if I hide, he won't see me!_ She looked around frantically for a hiding spot, but the room was full of shelves, which in turn were full of trophies. She blushed when she realized he had looked at her._ Oh, great, now he's not only seen me standing here, but also shaking my head like a lunatic!_ She couldn't help wondering, though, what he had done to be in detention. He was usually very well behaved. And mostly, he was very, very calm. It amazed her, how he seemed to be always tranquil, unaffected by anything that went by him. Even during Quidditch plays he was serene, which was fairly rare for a Beater. Most people considered him to be somewhat cold, but Rose knew better. She always paid close attention to him whenever they had classes or Prefect meetings together, and she had seen emotions within him, had seen anger and passion and fire in his icy-blue eyes.

"Rose?" The redheaded girl turned on the spot and her eyes widened._ Albus? Now, _that_ is a surprise!_ "What are you doing here, Rosie?"

"I'm buying an owl, Al. Seriously, what does it seem that I'm doing?" Albus flinched at his cousin's sharp response, but he knew she was usually like that when she was upset, and she was clearly very upset. "How did you get a detention?" He asked, approaching her slowly.

"How did _you_ get a detention? You're a Hufflepuff, for Merlin's sake!"

Albus blushed slightly, "Tell you later."

Sue rolled her eyes when she noticed she'd have to share detention not only with _perfect girl _but with _perfect boy_ was well. Really, could any cousins be more boring than those two? At least he was kinda cute. And by the looks of it, could be an easy prey. Well, well, she might have some fun after all. Her eyes darted to the Slytherin boy and she rolled her eyes once more. That one was a lost case. The _ice prince_, who showed absolutely no emotions, barely talked to anyone and had never been seen with a girl. _Maybe he's homo._ She noticed when his eyes lingered on her breasts for a few seconds before he looked the other way._ Maybe not._

"All right, you lot, grab your flannels and start wiping!" Filch ordered them, slowly walking to the only chair in the room and sitting down. "And don't even try using magic when I'm not looking! This room is magic-proof. I f you use any kind of spell, you'll set off an alarm that will be heard even in the Shrieking Shack."

Sue flashed Filch an angry look. _I thought we were going to help him, not do everything by ourselves! Well, that's what they get for having such an old man as a caretaker! And worse, a Squib!_ She looked around to see if anybody else was as outraged as she was, but they all seemed to be already immersed in their work. She sighed, frustrated, when she realized nobody was paying attention to her. Now, _that_ was a new one and she certainly wouldn't have it. She needed attention and she was going to get it. She looked from one boy to the other, trying to figure out which would be easily seduced. She had caught Malfoy looking lustfully at her, yes. On the other hand, he was a cold guy, whereas Potter seemed more fragile, more in need of attention… and was most likely more naïve than the Slytherin. Moreover, that would annoy Weasley the most, seeing as he was her cousin. Sue glanced at the other girl, already delighted at the prospect of nailing her cousin, and was surprised to catch the redhead looking sideways at Malfoy at the other side of the room: her face was flushed and she was biting her lower lip, for once seeming completely distracted from her task._ So, this is where the water flows!_ Sue watched as Malfoy looked back at the Gryffindor inquisitively, making her blush even more and avert her eyes. Sue smirked. She had her target.

The brunette opened the upper button of her robes and walked gracefully to where Malfoy stood. She slightly pressed her thigh against his and leaned a little so that he could have a better view of her bronzed breasts. "Do you need any help?" she asked in a low, seductive voice, smiling and batting her eyelashes at him.

Scorpius looked at her as she was an extraterrestrial. The most beautiful extraterrestrial ever, but still very strange. First of all, nobody _ever_ talked to him, let alone girls, and certainly not _that_ way. He couldn't help looking at her breasts, which seemed very soft, by the way. He than glanced at her full rosy lips and his breath caught in his throat. His gaze lifted to her very dark brown eyes._ Why is she talking to me like that? It's almost as if she's trying to seduce me. _"Er… hum… ok. I mean, yes, if you want to. Help me, I mean. That's ok," he managed to stammer.

Sue's smiled widened and she pressed herself more against him, taking her flannel and starting wiping the same large cup he was holding. She wasn't even looking at the cup, though. Her eyes were on Weasley and she had to master all her will not to stick her tongue at the other girl like a five year old child._ You see? You got mine, I got yours! How do you like that now?_

Scorpius was even more distracted when he felt her breast touch his forearm._ She _is _trying to seduce me! But why _me_? I mean, I could understand – at least a little better – if I was the only guy here, but Potter's standing right there and he's certainly more attractive than me, right? I mean, I'm a Slytherin! And a Malfoy! And an uptight Prefect! Well, so is Potter… Anyway, why me?_ He looked intensely at her eyes to see if he could figure out what was to him a complete puzzle. He liked doing that, looking into people's eyes. Over many years of solitude and silence, he had learned that the eyes often spoke more than the mouth – and usually more truthfully. He noticed then she wasn't looking at the cup they were cleaning, as he expected her to. She wasn't even looking at him. She was looking at… He turned his head to find out… _Weasley? Is she trying to seduce her? _That would certainly be unexpected, but it didn't seem to be the case. Steel's eyes were not seducing anymore, they were daring. Like she was challenging Weasley to do something. She had her eyebrows raised in a look that seemed to say: 'What are you going to do now?'She actually looked like a little girl rubbing in the face of her playmate that her doll was prettier. Scorpius almost stumbled in realization. I_ am the doll? No, wait now, that makes no sense. What interest could Weasley have in _me_?_ He looked again at the redhead and was surprised to see her eyes. They expressed shock, anger and… was that jealousy?

Rose closed her fists in anger. She felt herself trembling and took a deep breath to calm down. She knew Steel was trying to get on her nerves – and succeeding – and she didn't want to give her that pleasure. She noticed Malfoy looking at her and quickly directed her attention to her cousin. Her breathing was still uneven, though, and she knew she was blushing furiously. Albus eyed her inquiringly. "Are you alright, Rosie? You seem a little… angry."

Scorpius quickly backed away when he realized what was going on, causing Steel to falter. He didn't even try to catch her._ She is using me to get on Weasley's nerves?!_ He couldn't understand why Steel would do such a thing, but he was downright disgusted that she had used him with that intent. He walked to the farthest side of the room, passing Weasley and Potter on the way without looking at them. Rose saw him almost running away from Steel and smiled slightly. "Me? Oh, no! I'm fine, Al. I'm great, actually." She turned to gaze at the Ravenclaw and grinned. "So, you didn't tell me why you're here." Albus was more confused than ever, for Rose was now looking very pleased all of a sudden. He shrugged and decided to pay the matter no second thought. Girls were just weird like that. Instead, he focused on her question. "Well, I was caught sneaking out to go to Hogsmeade when I should be in my Charms class," he answered, a playful smile on his lips.

"What?!" Rose said that a little louder than she had intended, and quickly glanced at Filch. She breathed with relief when she saw that the caretaker was slumped in the chair, his head fallen back and his mouth opened, snoring. "I'm sorry, Al, but I think I didn't hear you right. What did you say you were doing?"

Sue approached them. She didn't know why Malfoy had suddenly lost interest in her, but she wasn't going to give up the chance of pissing off Weasley. However, she was truly curious as to what had put _perfect boy_ into detention.

"I said I was caught sneaking out to go to Hogsmeade when I should be in my Charms class," Albus repeated the exact same words, almost as if he had rehearsed them. Perhaps he had.

Rose's mouth gaped. "Why did you do that? I mean, that's so unlike you."

"Exactly." The Hufflepuff was grinning widely now. "By the way, what did _you _do? It's not exactly common for you to get a detention."

She blushed and looked at her shoes, embarrassed because she knew Malfoy was listening. "I… hum… I don't want to talk about it."

"She jinxed me." Sue stated, sounding very offended.

It was Albus turn to gap his mouth at his cousin. "You did that? But… why?"

Rose gave Steel a deathly glare. "I had my reasons," she said between her clenched teeth.

"Oh, Rose, you and that bad temper of yours! I'm sure whatever she did wasn't that bad. Besides, she probably didn't even _mean_ to offend you." He turned to face the brunette girl. "Right?"

Sue flashed him a bright smile. "_Of course _not! Thanks for understanding that!"

Scorpius shook his head. He knew Steel had probably done something offensive, although she looked like one of those saints in Muggle paintings. Nonetheless, Potter was right: his cousin had a very bad temper. It was one of the things Scorpius liked about her, though. Unlike him, who pretended to be a good boy, who did his best not show his emotions and who usually had to swallow his pride (and a few bad words), she always did what she wanted. She didn't seem to care what others would think about her actions or what the consequences might be. She always stood up for what she thought was right and just, and he had to admit he deeply admired that. He looked into her eyes again and noticed they were now a dark shade of blue – she was very angry. She looked beautiful when she was angry. Smiling, he said in a low voice: "If that's true, then why are _you_ on detention?"

Rose couldn't believe her own ears. Malfoy was defending _her_! Well, not exactly, but if he was accusing Steel, that meant he knew the girl was not so innocent after all. Which meant he knew Rose was not so guilty. Which was almost as good as defending her.

Sue gave Malfoy a deep frown. First he turned her down and now _this_? "Why did _you _get a detention?"

Scorpius took a deep breath. "I think we should return to our duties. We don't want Filch to wake up and realize we haven't done anything."

Sue snorted and was about to respond when a loud knock sounded on the door.

**Author's note**_**: **_I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger – I know it's cliché and is also a bit annoying, but I actually wanted this chapter to end here because the next one will start another action. I hope you like it so far. Please review! I'd love to know what you think of it so far, or if you have any critics and/or suggestions. Thank you!


	5. Challanges

Chapter 5: Challenges

**Chapter 5: Challenges **

_By Shaya n'ha Margali_

_Beta: higginszoo_

**Chapter 5: Challenges **

They all remained still and silent while the door was opened slightly and a pair of green eyes peeked in. Professor Jenkins looked from the students to Mr. Filch, still asleep in the chair and shook her head. She walked over to the caretaker and shook his shoulder lightly. "Mr. Filch?" The old man grumbled in his sleep. "Mr. Filch!" The professor's voice was louder and she shook him rather violently for such an old and thin man.

"Keep wiping, keep wiping!" Mr. Filch woke with a start, and they all turned very abruptly in order to hide snickers.

"Mr. Filch?"

"Oh, 'ello Professor Jenkins. Got another one for me, have you?"

"Well, not actually. It seems there's a problem with Peeves and some of the school pets. We need you in the Owlery."

"Right." The old man stood up slowly. "You lot, you stay and wipe. And remember, no magic. I'll be back before you can say Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

Both Filch and the DADA teacher left, locking the door behind them and leaving the youngsters to resume their assignments.

Sue immediately dropped her flannel on the nearest shelf and plopped in the chair, crossing her legs. "So, what are we going to do now?"

Rose looked at her, dumbfounded. Steel was not going to clean anymore? That would leave more work for them, which was very unfair! _She's very mistaken if she thinks I'm going to work for her!_

Scorpius shook his head. He would have loved to just get out of there, but he knew it wouldn't help his cause at all, and procrastinating detention didn't mean getting out of it completely. It would only be worse if Filch came back to find they hadn't done their work.

Albus mouth was ajar. What was Steel suggesting, that they not do their detention work? _We can _do_ that? _"Brilliant!", he said, also discarding his flannel on the shelf and sitting on the floor near the chair.

Both Rose and Scorpius turned to him, more surprised than ever. Then they looked at each other and Rose blushed and looked back down. Scorpius smiled slightly. "You mean you're also quitting, Potter?"

"Sure, why not?"

"You can't do that, Al! _We_ can't do that!"

"What's stopping us, Rosie?"

"Well… we… We did something wrong, so we have to pay detention… I mean, that's how it works."

"Says who?" S ue looked at the her defiantly.

"Hum… says, says… the rules!"

Sue started laughing so hard she soon had tears in her eyes. "Says… oh, Merlin!... The… rules!" She just couldn't stop herself.

Albus giggled, not finding it so funny, but trying to sound confident. Rose looked absolutely mortified. Scorpius sighed. "That's not the major problem." They all looked at him and even Sue stopped laughing. Successfully gaining all their attention, he proceeded. "The problem is that if we haven't advanced in our work when Filch gets back, our punishment will only grow. Besides, I have a feeling we're only getting out of here once we've finished, and I don't know about you, but I want that to happen as soon as possible."

"Oh, come on!" Sue stood up, ready to defend her point of view. "Filch can't hold us here until late, even if he wants to! And for all he knows, we _are_ working. I mean, we don't need to go anywhere… And when he comes back, we just start cleaning up again, like that's all we've been doing."

"Sounds reasonable," agreed Albus.

"Reas… That's not reasonable, it's insane!"

"Come on, _perfect girl_, don't be so uptight!"

"I'm not… Oh, alright, if you're not working, _I_ won't be doing your jobs!" Rose threw her flannel on the floor and sat down. All eyes turned to Scorpius, who simply shrugged and set aside his own flannel, joining the others on the floor.

Silence took over the room for several seconds, while Rose looked admiringly at Scorpius, Scorpius looked questioningly at Albus, Albus looked curiously at Sue and Sue looked absent-mindedly at her own fingernails. Finally, Albus popped out the question that was in everyone's mind: "Well, what now?"

Sue looked up and gave him a smile that promised mischief. He liked that. "Now, we play a game… Ever heard of Truth or Dare?"

Rose gaped. "I'm not playing that game with _you_!"

"Why not? Got something to hide, Weasley?"

Rose felt her cheeks burning._ Don't look at him, don't look at him!_ She snorted in mockery, but she only sounded nervous. "Noooo. Of course not!"

"Good! Then you'll have no objections! Anyone else?"

Neither of the boys spoke: Albus really wanted to play and have some fun, something he rarely got the chance to do, and Scorpius couldn't care less, but fell into I-just-wanna-please-you mode.

"Good! I'll start!" Sue grabbed her wand from her pocket and sat on the floor between Albus and Scorpius and across from Rose. She spun the wand in the middle of the circle and it stopped pointing to Albus. Sue could barely hide her disappointment. _Potter? What does _he _have to hide? _"Truth or dare?"_ I hope he picks dare!'_

Albus snickered. This was just the opportunity he needed to prove that he wasn't the _good boy_ they all believed him to be. "Dare!"

The brunette girl looked around, but couldn't think of anything he could do. "Well, I dare you to… Er, let's see… I dare you to… Kiss me!"

Rose looked at her in shock. "You don't need to do that, Al!"

"Of course he does! Those are the _rules_. I thought you were the one who liked rules."

"It's all right. I'll do it." He wasn't about to admit he had never kissed a girl before. And who knew when he'd have the opportunity to kiss such a pretty girl again? His heart thumping in his chest, he leaned towards her, his gaze fixed upon hers. His eyelids closed when he softly captured her lips with his own. She surprised him by forcing her tongue between his lips and deepening the kiss. He brought a hand to her face and caressed the soft skin while she put both her hands in his hair and pulled him closer. He was so caught up in the blissful moment that he took a couple seconds to realize she was pulling away. He smiled and sat with a back sigh, looking down to avoid the look of disgust he knew his cousin was giving him.

Sue smiled back at him._ Not bad. Could use some improvement, but he's a sweet kisser… Very sweet._ She wasn't used to kisses like that. Usually her kisses were hungry and anxious, a means to something else – either sex or favors. Or both. But Potter had kissed her like that was all he needed. That was strange. But it wasn't any bad. "Your turn."

"Hum? Oh! Yeah…" Albus turned the wand and it stopped pointing towards his cousin. "Truth or dare?"

Rose stared at Albus, thinking. She could pick "truth": she didn't have anything to hide – well, at least not something her cousin would be cunning enough to ask. She knew very well Truth or Dare was a game meant for teenagers to ask each other questions concerning the amount of sexual experience each had and to use the "dare" part to make sure that experience grew. But Al was very naïve and wouldn't ask that kind of questions – especially not _her_, who was his cousin and friend. Relieved, she answered, "Truth."

Albus racked his brains for something to ask the redhead. Finally, he remembered something his brother had told him over the summer and that he had not believed at the time and thus hadn't had the courage to ask Rose about. Well, now it seemed the perfect occasion to clarify things. "Is it true that you and Kevin Wood kissed on James' birthday party?"

Rose's eyes widened with shock. How did he know that? She was sure nobody had seen it! They had been in the backyard for some fresh air when Kevin looked at her in such a loving way that she couldn't resist it. It was a warm night, the stars were all visible, they were alone and… well, both a bit drunk. It had been a mistake, and she knew it, for now every time she saw Kevin there was this awkwardness between them and she had caught him looking at her in a different way a few times. He was really a sweet guy and she hated herself for not being in love with him. It would make things a lot easier to be in love with such a nice boy, who was also in love with her and that everyone in her family absolutely adored. Her father had gone as far as to hint something about Kevin over dinner once, but the look her mum had given him was enough for him not to mention it again. Looking down, she nodded. "Yes, it's true."_ I'll deal with you later, Albus Severus Potter!_ She quickly took the wand and twirled it, and, when it pointed to Malfoy, said in a squeaked voice: "Truth or dare?"

Scorpius didn't even blink, "Dare." Like hell he was going to let someone ask him personal questions like that! There was a good reason why they were called _personal_.

Rose looked around the room, thinking of something to dare him. She couldn't dare him to kiss her. Not that she wouldn't have liked to kiss him, but to do it because of a game took away all the romance of it. She wanted him to kiss her, yes, but only if he _wanted_ to, which was very different. Besides, that would be putting herself in place of comparison to Steel, and that she wouldn't admit. She gazed deeply at Malfoy, taking the opportunity to openly admire his nice features: the greyish-blue eyes, the platinum blonde hair… She smiled to herself, an idea formed in her mind. "I dare you to stay one hour with your hair bright pink! I'll do it myself, if you let me."

Scorpius twisted his mouth. He had thought she was going to go easy on him. His mistake. He just nodded and bowed his head to her. She took off her wand and waved it over his hair, not even saying the incantation aloud, like the teachers now insisted they did. She really was an intelligent girl. Within seconds, his hair was a very luminous shade of pink. Not that he could see it, but judging by the way the other three were laughing, Weasley should have been successful. Even he had to admit that it was a bit funny. Seeing the other ones laughing so easily made him want to do it as well, but he only allowed himself a smile. Ok, a grin. It was his turn and he smiled inwardly when the wand pointed at Steel. He had already a few questions popping in his mind and was, thus, disappointed when she picked "dare". What would he dare her? She seemed the kind of girl who would do anything. Literally. And the fun of the game was to oblige the other person to do something he wouldn't voluntarily do and possibly wouldn't like to do. He narrowed his eyes at the Ravenclaw. "I dare you to… hug Weasley." That would also be a revenge to the redhead, so it was getting two for the price of one.

Rose, who was still laughing at his expense, choked when she heard him. It was Steel's dare, not hers! Why did _she_ had to suffer as well?

Sue crawled to Weasley and hugged her, although trying to have as less contact as possible in the situation and all the time looking like she had eaten some very nasty Every Flavored Beans. Rose, on the other hand, stood rigid during the so called hug and gave Scorpius her death glare. She was surprised, though, because instead of flinching, like her brother and her cousins would have, he just smiled at her.

Sue quickly sat back down and turned the wand. Her whole face lit up when it stopped pointing to the Gryffindor girl. Rose's face, on the other hand, paled considerably. "Well, Weasley… Truth or dare?"

Rose swallowed hard. "Truth" meant having to answer what would probably be a very intimate question. Steel was not as naïve as Albus – hell, she was not naïve at all – and would certainly ask her something embarrassing. However, she really did have nothing to hide – at least not anymore. And if she answered "dare", Steel would probably want her to _do _something embarrassing, which was far worse. An information is quickly forgotten if it isn't relevant, whereas and image could stick endlessly to someone's mind. Still apprehensive, she picked "truth."

Sue had a wicked smile in her face. She knew whatever Weasley picked would become real fun – for Sue, of course. She talked deliberately slowly, knowing that would only make the other girl panic even more. "Is it true… that you've done… some _favors_ to Wood?"

Rose blushed crimson. "No!"

"Are you sure? You've just confessed you've kissed him… You know, you can't lie in this game."

"Nothing happened! It was just a kiss, no more!" Rose raised her voice considerably and looked very menacingly at Steel.

"Well, if you say so… I just asked because I heard some _rumors_ that you had… You know… Shagged him…" She looked down and twisted a tip of her hair, pretending to be ashamed to say those words.

"That's a lie!" Rose was shouting now. "_You_ were the one who invented those rumors! Why do you do that to me? Why don't you like me? What have I ever done to you?"

"Wow, calm down! I'm _sorry_. I didn't mean to offend you! I just wanted to know if it was true, and since you had already confessed that you had kissed him, I thought…"

"Shut up!"

"My turn!" Scorpius proclaimed, picking the wand.

Rose snapped back into herself. "No, it isn't! It's _my_ turn!"

Scorpius looked at her very calmly. "Not anymore." He didn't even bother turning the wand. Instead, he put back on the floor pointing to Steel. "Truth or dare? Truth!" He ignored the girl's protests. "Is it true that, although there are many guys that would give an arm to kiss you, you've never really liked any of them, and the only one you've actually fallen for is the one who doesn't want to be with you because he's in love with Weasley instead, that is: the Keeper and Captain of the Gryffindor's Quidditch team, Kevin Wood?"

Sue gasped. _What is this guy, a fortuneteller? _She shook her head, but several seconds passed before she could actually say "no," in a very weak voice.

"Are you sure?" Malfoy asked, in a perfect imitation of the tone she had used with Weasley earlier. "You know, you can't lie in this game."

She swallowed hard and took her wand from his hand. "My turn!" she said, very hastily. "I dare you… all of you… I dare you all to…" She thought for a second, wanting to ask something that put them in danger. Or at least in big trouble. "To go to the Forbidden Forest!"

Rose chuckled. "Are you mental? Why would we do such a thing?"

"Why not?"

"Because it's insane." Scorpius argued. "And pretty stupid."

"You're not _afraid_, are you? Well, I wouldn't be surprised. Everybody knows Malfoys are cowards."

Scorpius knew she was trying to get to his nerve, and felt angry at himself for realizing she was actually succeeding. Offending his family was always a way to get him angry – even if he did the same quite so often. But he was allowed to, he was family. He took a deep breath, determined not to let Steel win this one.

"What about you? I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be the boldest. You don't look very courageous to me. I wonder if the Sorting Hat didn't make a mistake putting you there."

Rose couldn't help wondering if Steel was right. She had thought the same time and again over the years. She had wanted to be in Gryffindor when she arrived at Hogwarts – both her parents had been Gryffindors, as well as all her uncles and her aunt Ginny and the great majority of her cousins. She felt that she belonged in Gryffindor only for being a Weasley. Besides, she knew her dad would be disappointed if she was in any other house. Only later she realized that she lacked the main quality Gryffindors should have: courage. She wasn't like her parents, who were very brave and had fought in a real war when they were younger and who now worked to make sure peace was maintained. She wasn't even like her cousins or her brother, who were always looking for adventures, fearing nothing and risking anything. She was afraid of many things: giants, spiders, thunderstorms, being alone, dying, someone close to her dying… She had a recurring nightmare where she was taken away by giant spiders in the middle of a thunderstorm, becoming completely alone and dying in the end. The variation was someone close to her dying in the end. She wasn't brave. Maybe she really wasn't a Gryffindor. Her face hardened and she stood up, determined not to show Steel how she truly felt. "I'm going."

"Me too!" Albus shouted, excited, while standing up as well. He had hesitated at first, but finally decided that was just the kind of adventure he needed to prove he was a _bad boy_. And if Rose was going, just the better.

Scorpius sighed. Were those two complete morons? Steel had easily manipulated Weasley using her obvious insecurities and Potter didn't even had to be convinced; he seemed eager to go! Well, letting those two wander through the Forbidden Forest on their own could as well be qualified as homicide. Making a decision, he rose. "I'm going… if _you_ are going," he finished, looking daringly at Steel.

"What? No way! It's _your_ challenge!_ I_ am daring _you_!"

"You know what? It makes sense!" said Rose. "I'm only going if you go too!"

Sue took a moment to consider the situation. She really wanted the other three to get into big trouble. But if she was with them… Well, she could try to sneak out, she was certainly smart enough to do that. And if that didn't work, she could always make her most innocent face and swear they had forced her to go with them. "All right. But you all have to swear that none of us is going to denounce the others if he or she is discovered."

"I swear," they all said in unison.

"I swear," Sue completed, sighing. They all smiled. This promised to be interesting.

_**Author's note: **__thanks again to higginszoo for being my beta!_

_**J.T. Smithe**__: I had already written this chapter when I read your review (thanks, btw), so I guess it's not a big surprise. Anyway, hope you like this chapter! _

**GabriellaJean**_ and _**Emmy**_: Thanks for reviews! About chapter 2, I don't know what happened, but the website showed it to me as being there, but no one could read it! I had to delete it and re-post it, but it's available now! _

**justinsgrl22**_: I'm really glad to know you're enjoying the story. And Sue's a mistery even to me! Well both have to wait and see how she turns out…_


	6. Into The Forest

**Chapter 6: Into the Forest **

_by Shaya n'ha Margali_

_Beta: higginszoo_

"All right, let's go then," said Sue, twirling to face the door.

"Er… I think the door's locked. How are we going to get out?" It was Albus who asked. "Filch said something about a magic alarm."

"He was bluffing," Scorpius stated, pointing to his pink hair. "If that was true, it would have already set off."

"Bloody hell, that's true! I completely forgot that! Merlin, that could have put us in a lot of trouble! I can't believe he lied to us!"

Sue just raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's see, shall we?" She pointed her wand to the lock and said: "Alohomora!" The door opened swiftly and she turned to face Weasley with a winning smile.

Rose dropped her mouth opened. "Bloody bastard! He really lied to us!"

Sue closed the door again. "Go ahead, say that a bit louder, will you? Now, I think we should cast Disillusionment Charms on ourselves. You can do that, right?" Three heads were shaken from side to side. Sue sighed. "Well, I can do it, but I'm not sure it's going to be perfect."

"You can cast a Disillusionment Charm?! But that's N.E.W.T.s level! We've just passed our O.W.L.s! Wow! You truly _are_ intelligent."

Sue beamed at Potter's compliment. "Well, I'm a Ravenclaw, right?"

Rose fumed with anger._ More beautiful than me, I can take! More popular, alright! But more intelligent? Never!_ "I can cast it!" All eyes turned to her. "I mean, at least I know the theory…"

Sue snickered. "Theory? Well, let's see, shall we? I'll go first, so you can try copying me," she said, condescendingly. She waved her wand in very flourished moves and muttered a spell. And just like that, she was invisible, her image blended with the surroundings. Well, almost.

"I can still see your outline," pointed out Rose.

"I think it's good enough. If we move fast no one will see us."

"Thanks Potter," Sue said, which was very odd, considering they couldn't really see her.

Rose took a deep breath. She had never cast a Disillusionment Charm before, but like hell she was going to let Steel win that one. She raised her wand and did the same movements Steel had done, only she moved her wand more delicately, and said the spell. And she, as well, became invisible. Well, different than Steel, she became _completely _invisible. She grinned, although they couldn't see it.

"Wow! You did it, Rose! And even better than Steel!"

"Seems so, doesn't it? Maybe I should do it to you, to make sure it's… _perfect_." She stressed the last word, knowing it would piss off Steel._ Serves her right! _

While Rose worked on Albus, Steel was doing it to Malfoy. Rose felt a little jealous, but said nothing, because it would only fuel the Ravenclaw.

Quickly they moved out of the room, making sure there was no one in the corridor that could see the door opening and closing by itself. They almost ran through the corridors, not doing it only to avoid unnecessary noise. But when they reached the yards, they actually started running. Soon they reached the entry of the Forbidden Forest.

"Here we are," said Albus, for the first time talking out loud since they had left the Trophy Room. "Can't we undo those spells now? We might lose each other if we don't".

"Good idea!" With a few more waves of her wand, Rose made Albus and herself visible again, while Sue did the same to herself. Malfoy, on the other hand, remained invisible. The others looked for him and called him, but got no answer.

"Do you think he's lost?" Albus asked.

"Maybe he wasn't able to follow us," stated Rose.

There were a few seconds of silence, then suddenly Steel shrieked and jumped, for something had just brushed her ankle. The other two looked at her, alarmed, and were about to ask what had happened when they heard a loud laughter. Rose waved her hand at the direction of the laughter, and, sure enough, there was Malfoy, sitting on the grass, laughing uncontrollably. Rose started laughing as well and Albus smiled, but Steel didn't seem to think it was funny.

Scorpius rose to his feet and winked at Steel, failing to see Weasley's angry face. "Sorry. I just _had_ to do that! Oh, Merlin, I had never, _ever_, done anything so… so… mischievous. I liked it!" He turned to Potter. "Now I understand why your brother does it so much, it's really funny!"

"_Now,"_ Sue said, bitterly, "shall we proceed? The challenge was to _enter_ the Forest and we are still on its limits." The other three nodded, still very lighthearted due to Malfoy's prank. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Weasley giggling from time to time and Malfoy openly laughing twice. After a while, though, all they could hear were birds flying over their heads and nesting on the nearby trees.

"_This_ is the Forbidden Forest?" Albus said, gesturing around. "It doesn't look very intimidating, does it? I mean, it's just a lot of trees!"

"Oh, yes, that's very strange, isn't it?" Rose mocked, "With the name of _Forest_, I was sure I was going to find a lot of _sand_!"

"Can we go back now?" Scorpius asked. "The deal was to go into the Forest, which we've already done."

Sue smiled wickedly and got closer to him, putting her hands on her hips. "You are not afraid, are you… Scorpius?" she purposely used his first name, faking intimacy, and smiled when she saw Weasley's shocked expression.

Rose just couldn't believe it. When had those two got into a first name basis? Well, if Steel could do it, so could she. "I think _Scorpius_ is correct. We should return now."

Scorpius smiled at her. "Thank you, _Rose_."

"Oh, we're using our first names, now? Cool!" the Hufflepuff boy exclaimed.

The other three shared a look among themselves and suddenly burst into laughter. Albus looked from one to another, not understanding what could be so funny. "That's right, Al! Only first names, now!" said Sue, approaching him and putting an arm around him.

"So, shall we return?"

Sue smiled. "All right _Scorpius_, let's return."

They all twirled and started walking back to where they had come from. Almost. The problem was that they hadn't exactly walked a straight line and as they tried to return, had made themselves completely lost.

"Are we going to admit to ourselves that we are lost?" It was Scorpius who first voiced their concerns, after a few minutes of random walking.

"Hum... Yeah, I admit it. I have no idea where the exit is," Albus agreed.

"Me neither," said Sue. "Whose stupid idea was it of going into the Forbidden Forest?" When nobody answered, but three pairs of eyes looked at her menacingly, she shrunk her shoulders. "It was just a joke."

Scorpius sighed. "This is not the best time for jokes."

The group stood in silence for a few seconds, then Albus said: "You know, my father said he once faced giant spiders in this place."

Rose trembled visibly. "Yeah, I remember that story… Dad said their leader had died and there were probably none left… Still, I wish we could just get out of here now."

"Sure, but where to?" Scorpius asked, looking directly at Sue, who gulped. "Let's try that way!" she said, pointing. "And let's mark these trees, so that if we walk in circles we'll know it." She marked small Xs in the bottom of the nearest trees with her wand. "Ok, let's go!"

"Where do you think you're going?" A deep and harsh voice asked, making the teenagers jump in surprise. They turned around to face a centaur. An ugly, angry and unfriendly centaur. There was not time to think, as the girls screamed and the boys went speechless, and all of them ran for their lives.

**Author's note: **Not my best work, I know… This was like a transition chapter, seeing as now the action takes place in the Forest from now on… Albus is coming off a little dumber than I had intended at first, but we'll see his best qualities on the next chapter (hopefully). I liked exploring a bit of Rose's bad temper (self-inspired, I must say). And I know Scorpius' prank wasn't really funny, but to someone not use to any pranks, he felt really funny at the moment. Oh, and they're using first names now! It'll make it easier to read, I hope. (Little voice in author's head: are you sure you're the one writing this story?). Now, answering the reviews (loved them, as always!):

**sucalder** – Yes, being a teenager can be really awkward. I know I wasn't exactly outgoing as a teen, and my characters reflect that. Well, except Sue. 

**jocelynsmama** – You read it twice?! grins Thanks! I'm not planning anything for Scorpius and Rose on the next chapter, but they're definitely appearing A LOT on the next-next one, so beware!

**Christopher** – Thanks for understanding the need of cliché! 


	7. Finding Themselves

**Chapter 7: Finding themselves**

_By Blodeuwedd84_

_Beta: higginszoo_

Sue threw herself on the muddy ground of the Forest , exhausted. She had been walking for what seemed like hours, trying to find the others or the exit, or both. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since that centaur had attacked them. There was still sunlight, but it was growing darker by the minute. Or maybe it was just the Forest that was too deep, the trees tall and very close to each other, hiding the sun from her eyes. She sighed and wondered if anyone was looking for her. By this time, she figured Filch should have already come back and realized they were missing. The teachers could be looking for them, probably to give them more detention. But would they think about looking into the Forest ?

_Oh, damn! This isn't funny. Not at all_. She shuddered. A chilly wind had started blowing between the trees, but she knew it wasn't just the cold. She was scared, as much as she hated to admit it. What if nobody found her? Would she die in there? Starving to death, or maybe freezing, perhaps even eaten by some creature of the Forest .

She closed her eyes, trying to make the dark images that were playing in her head go away, but it only got worse. She knew there weren't many people who liked her back in school. If she were to be sincere with herself, there wasn't absolutely anyone. She had admirers, yes, some fans, but no real friend. Who would miss her if she died? Her father was probably going to be sad for his younger and rebellious daughter, the one he could never understand, the one he could never really control and that for the last years he scarcely knew. Her older sisters would probably cry a little bit, say how sad they were, then resume their perfect lives: the older, Mei, was a very successful lawyer and lived in the United States ; the middle one, Lynn, was currently in University studying English and was an exceptional volleyball player. They were both muggle, as was their father. Sue was the only one in the family who was a witch, like her mother had been. Her mum, Cho Steel, _neé_ Chang, had attended Hogwarts a long time ago, and had been, like Sue, a Ravenclaw and a Seeker. And that was pretty much all she knew about her mum's time in the school. She had later married a muggle and lived happily until a cancer took her life away and stole her from her family. Sue had been five when she died, and she could still remember her sweet voice, that later became somewhat of a whisper, when she was too weak to speak. Sue would do all sorts of misbehavior in front of her, just to hear her mum yelling at her, but she didn't – she no longer could. Her beautiful hair had fallen out due to chemotherapy. She had had to spend most of her time in bed, and her radiance and energy had disappeared. Sue wanted to be with her then, but her dad hadn't allowed it, saying it would tire her mom; but she already understood he didn't want her to see her mum like that and suffer. But Sue had already seen her, and she was already suffering, for she knew, even if no one told her, that her mum was going to die, just like Peepo, their dog, had died a few months before. By then, her father had told her that Peepo had gone to Heaven to be with a lot of other dogs and that he was going to be happy there, but she couldn't understand why he couldn't be happy with _her_. And now her mum was leaving, and she knew that she was never coming back again, so she wanted to spend every minute she had with her, but her dad had said no, that she could be with mummy when she got better. For years she had been angry with her dad, because her mum hadn't got better, she had gone away like Sue had thought she would, and she hadn't been with her. It wasn't really fair that her father had spent so much time with her, and her sisters as well, and she had only got a little more than five years. Really unfair.

Now she wondered if she'd meet her mum if she died. She would have liked it. Thinking about her mum's sweet smell, she drifted off to sleep.

It didn't take long for Albus to realize that he was lost. Completely lost. Not only he didn't know how to get out of the Forest , but now he didn't even know where his friends were. Not that they were really his friends, more like classmates, except for Rose, who was his cousin. But, in the few hours they had passed together, he had had more fun than he'd had in a long while. He pondered about that. Was it their company that made him feel better? It seemed to be. Somehow, he felt more relaxed with them. Albus didn't feel like he had to prove something.

A bird chirped above him, causing him to startle. He rolled his eyes at himself. _Startled by a bird? That's ridiculous!_ He had to admit this adventure thing was over for him. Okay, so maybe he wasn't a very bold guy, but so what? He had other qualities, right? And he had flaws as well. He was an uptight person and he couldn't change that. He wasn't even sure he wanted to change it. The thing was, he never tried to be a nice boy, he just _was_. James always teased him about that, how he was probably the first Potter to never get a detention. And now he had, but then what? Detentions weren't fun, quite the contrary. Despite the fact that he had had some fun, it had happened because of his new-found friends. Polishing trophies and getting lost in the Forbidden Forest wasn't fun at all. Now he'd had his adventure, he figured it was about time to stop. So, he wouldn't be the first Potter to never a detention, but it didn't mean he had to get many of them, right? Maybe his older brother was right, maybe he was different from the rest of them. He wasn't mischievous and he actually liked some rules, unlike the rest of his family. All his family. His brother, his sister, his mother, his father... And then he realized. All the time he had spent trying to prove he was different from his father, and all he had to do was to be himself. The reason why he had had fun this afternoon was because he was feeling comfortable with himself, which had allowed him to feel comfortable around the others. If he could just be himself and not worry about what other people would say, he could have a lot more fun! He knew it wasn't easy, but he decided he was going to try it with all his heart. Grinning, he marked the tree next to him with an "X" and resumed walking.

After walking for a few minutes, he spotted a figure near the ground. He narrowed his eyes, as the light was fast diminishing, and recognized the chocolate-brown hair. He ran to her, afraid of the worst, and let out his breath when he found her breathing.

"Steel?" he called lightly, tentatively touching her shoulder. "Sue?"

"Humph?" She stirred, sitting up. "Potter? What are you doing here?", she asked, forgetting in her half-asleep state that they were in the Forbidden Forest and that they closer now.

Al frowned, not sure how to answer her. "Er… Waking you up? I was worried, are you alright? If you are, we should get going, it's starting to get dark, you see…"

"Oh, right. I thought it was a dream. A really weird one where I was friends with _perfect boy_ and _perfect girl_ and ended up in trouble."

Albus just smiled at her nicknames for him and Rose. "Sorry, reality calling. So, shall we?"

Sue stretched and stood up. "You know", she said, before she could stop herself, "my mom dated your dad."

Albus blinked. "Really? Well, if you're anything like your mom, it's a wonder he let her go", he said, half joking, half serious.

Sue rolled her eyes. Was he flirting with her? Great, so he WAS like all the other boys. _He's cute when he flirts, though. _Or was he just being nice? He was a nice boy, after all. Shaking her head, she decided to let those thoughts for later. After all, they did have more urgent matters. "So, which way?"

**Author's note: **this chapter turned out to be a lot more gloomy than I had thought at first. Poor Sue, I really pitied her… Thanks for all the reviews! And thanks for higginszoo for being such a great beta!


	8. Deep and dark

**Chapter 8: Deep and dark**

Scorpious sighed, falling on the ground. What a stupid idea! He shouldn't have followed this group of crazy people into the Forbidden Forest. It was sheer madness. He was a _prefect_, for Merlin's sake! He'd sure be disentitled when Professor McGonall discovered this. Or even worse – he could be expelled! He'd be the shame of all the family – both his families! They'd think he was unworthy of being a Malofy. They'd expell him too! He'd be homeless and school-less. What would he do? Fuck, he was hopeless! Better to just stay in the forest forever. For sure he could live there, right? Lots of animals lived there. He could build a house or something. He was still a wizard. And he had his wand. Sure, the forest was dangerous, but he was convinced that facing his father and his grandfather was way more dangerous.

He was musing on these thoughts when he caught a movement on his right. Slowly turning his head, he saw this small black dot moving. He was trying to figure out what it was, when he realized it was becoming bigger. And bigger. And then he saw legs, and pincers, and eyes. He sat there, looking at the giant spider approaching him, unable to move. His breathing got caught in his throat and his heart was racing, but yet he couldn't move. He knew he should run or hide or cast a spell against it, but it felt like he had been the victim of a Petrificus Totalus spell; his limbs refused to respond, his mind was shooting in a thousand different directions and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to think of a spell even if he could move. And, damn, that was one fast spider.

The blue flash of light knocked down the spider, that turned upside down and stopped moving. Scorpius released a breath he hadn't known he was holding, but still didn't move. Footsteps approached him and she sat next to him. He knew it was her, of course. Who else would be wandering in the forest right now? And the other two wouldn't have been so silent about it. Albus would probably have screamed and run, tagging him along or asking what they'd do. Sue would screamed the spell very loudly, making sure he understood that she had just saved his life. But she just sat next to him, which made him feel grateful. As much as he was relieved she had indeed pretty much saved his life, he was also ashamed of himself for not doing anything. He wasn't a kid anymore; he was wizard and he had a wand. If he had to die, the least he could do was die fighting, right? Instead, he had become paralyzed in his panic. Well, that surely explained why he wasn't a Gryffindor! But she was... And she'd surely proven that right now. Finally able to move, he slowly turned his head, and what he saw surprised him. She was sitting next to him, her head resting on her arms, which were crossed over her knees, her bright red hair hiding her pretty face. She was shaking and he heard this small noise and realized she was crying.

"What? What's wrong?"

She didn't answer him, shaking her head instead.

"Er... Thank you. You just saved my life. That was very brave, what you just did."

She looked at him now, her face flushed, the tip of her nose red and her beautiful brown eyes filled with tears, some of which had let a trail over the freckles.

"That was... a _giant... spider!"_

"Hm... Yes? I – I saw it."

"It was... It was..." She sobbed, hiding her face again. Scorpious looked at her, puzzled. First she knocked down the thing and after that she was afraid. Girls were, indeed, very strange.

"It's... Well, it's dead now, isn't it? You can stop crying."

The way she stared at him next made him wish he hadn't said that.

"THAT WAS A GIANT SPIDER! I'm afraid of giants! AND SPIDERS! And when I say afraid, I mean really, really, reeeeeeeeeeeeeally afraid, like phobia-like! Do you realize that giant spiders are, like, my worst nightmare? EVER? My dad told me a story about how he'd once faced one of those, and that it was supposed to make me feel better, 'cause dad's afraid of spiders too, but he had lived his worst fear and survived it, so I could too and I was brave too and would surely be in Gryffindor, but ever since he told me that I've been terrified of the mere thought of ever seeing a giant spider and I had nightmares – horrible, horrible nightmares, when I would literally wake up screaming – about them and I thought I was the worst Gryffindor ever, 'cause I'm really really afraid of them – and not just of giants or spiders, of many things! And now... now... THAT WAS A GIANT SPIDER! A REAL one! Right IN FRONT of me! I could have died! You could have died! I could have missed the spell. It could not have been strong enough – Oh, Merlin! It wouldn't be strong enough, then the spider would be mad at us and would kill us faster. And more painfully. Or eat us alive!" She had stood up while talking to him and paced around, and now she was staring down at him, her eyes wide with fear. "Can't you see?"

"Hmm... sure. Yeah". Scorpious had absolutely no idea what she had been talking about, but decided that playing along was the best course of action. He had tried to pay attention, really, but the girl talked so much, so fast, it was nearly impossible! Besides, he had gotten distracted by how amazingly beautiful and sexy she looked when she was shouting like that, her face red, her eyes wide, her hair trashing around her – it was really hard to pay attention to the words.

She eyed him suspiciously. "You have no idea about what I just said, do you?"

Fuck. Busted. "I...er... of course I do! You were talking about... spiders... Giant spiders! And, hum... nightmares."

She grinned at him and he was now sure the world had stopped moving. "I guess that's pretty close, so you're off the hook."

Off the hook? Was she crazy? He was hooked, totally hooked, absolutely hooked, completely hooked, couldn't be more hooked if he tried to. He gave her a side smile and stood up.

"I'm glad you found me. Not only for, you know..." He gestured towards where the spider still lay "but because I was starting to feel really lonely and sad, and... well, me. And when you're around I feel less like me. And that's a good thing."

Rose stared at him, confused by his words and a little dizzy by the fact that he was now standing very close to her. She stared into his greyish-blue eyes, that seemed darker because of the lack of enough light (or was it something else?). He took a step closer to her and she gulped down.

"No... no problem. Any time!" She smiled, feeling foolish. He was close enough for her to make her wonder if he would kiss her – but no, of course he wouldn't! Would he? He took another step closer to her and she sighed and licked her lips, anticipating the kiss. Not that he would _really_kiss her. Of course not. It was just a natural involuntary reaction. He lifted his hand to touch her hair and Rose closed her eyes, unable to stop herself from wishing – oh, and how much she wished! - that he would, actually, kiss her. And then he did. She felt his lips softly press against hers and opened her eyes. He had his closed and was putting his other arm around her waist, pulling her nearer. She closed her eyes again and encircled his neck with her arms, sighing deeply. She opened her mouth to let him explore it with her tongue, her own doing the same with his, wrestling around each other and sending tingles across her spine and a warm feeling to her lower parts. The kiss was sweet and intense at the same time, and not at all rushed. She felt like melting against his body.

Scorpius couldn't really explain what had happened. He could barely understand it. He just knew it had been too much. Her beautiful face, her sexy body, her gorgeous hair flowing around her, her smile, the heat emanating from her body – it had all been too much for him to resist. Next thing he knew he was kissing her, fingers entwined in her hair. He felt slightly afraid that he'd disappoint her (for he had never kissed anyone before) or that she'd turn him down (for all her family hated him and surely she felt the same), but it was too late to stop and, frankly, he didn't want to. She felt too damn good pressed against him, her mouth warm and inviting.

They broke apart slowly, panting, silly grins etched on their faces. His face was red and she thought he looked adorable. She giggled and he thought she was incredible.

A noise to the side made both turn their heads.

"What the... I thought you had killed it!"

"I couldn't kill it! It's just a beast, it doesn't know what it's doing. I could never kill it! I just knocked it down."

"Well, do it again!"

She raised her wand and shoot the spell directly between the spider's eyes. He sighed in relief.

"Argh! I'm pathetic! I just got saved by a girl... again!"

She laughed and he smiled at her. "Sue's right, you know. You truly _are_ perfect."

_Author's not: I'm back, yey! I can't believe it! I actually thought I'd never finish this story! But I'm back now and I intend to finish it, don't worry. Did you like this chapter? I thought I'd have the girl saving the boy in distress this time. :) Hope you enjoyed. Send me reviews, please._


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